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The report states that the global wearable technology market, which valued nearly USD 750.0 million in 2012, is expected to rise with a CAGR of 40.8% during the forecast period of the report, i.e. between 2012 and 2018, and rise to a value worth USD 5.8 billion by 2018. North America, the current leaders of the market, could also top the market by the end of the forecast period, garnering an expected 43.0% share of the global wearable technology market. Wearable technology or wearable electronics refer to the electronic devices that are incorporated with items of daily wearing, such as clothes, jewelleries or accessories, and can be easily worn on the body.

Wearable technology is still in its nascent stages and finds its major applications in the fields of medicine, wellness and fitness, military forces and infotainment (information fused with entertainment). Common wearable devices in the wellness and fitness segments include activity monitors, sleep sensors and smart clothing. The infotainment segment includes products such as smart glasses, smart watches, etc. The healthcare segment is flourished with products such as smart monitoring devices such as continuous glucose monitoring devices, implantable devices for timely drug delivery and wearable patches.

According to the report, the end-user segment of healthcare and medicine garnered the largest amounts of revenues for this market in 2012 and accounted for an estimated 35.1% of its shares. This was followed by the segment of wellness and fitness. By 2018, however, it is expected that the segment of infotainment will surpass the market shares of the wellness and fitness segment owing to the robust growth in products such as smart watches and smart glasses. By the end of the forecast period, the healthcare and medicines segment could continue to lead the market due to the rising numbers of aged population and a rise in the overall cases of diabetes in the world.

Factors such as compactness, portability, multi-functionality, rising areas of application and increasing adoption of these technologies by the end users are driving the growth of this industry. The rising popularity of technically advanced devices amongst the young generation and the rising demand for real time and readily actionable data are also fuelling demands of the market. However, the high cost of technically advanced devices from this industry could hinder its growth during the forecast period.

High adoption rates and good consumer awareness about wearable technology have rendered the region of North America as the leader of the global wearable technology market. In 2012, it was estimated that this region contributed nearly 2/5th of the total global revenues garnered by this industry. This region is expected to face tough competition from Europe and Asia Pacific regions, which, according to the report, would have shares of about 49% of this market by 2018.

The study presents a comprehensive assessment of the stakeholder strategies, winning imperatives for them by segmenting the global wearable technology market as below: